Page 3 of Laying Low

“It’s wonderful,” Anthony told him, falling a little more deeply with every syllable.“I’d love to see your other work.”

Reg had given an almost stealthy smile, like he was afraid the smile itself would be stolen from him, and said that someday he’d show Anthony some photos.

And then he changed the subject, probably hoping Anthony would forget the onetime Registrar Julliard Royal had actually asserted his individuality and identity into the world.And yes, Anthony knew about the names.All of them.Because his father was in love with a man named Valedictorian Princeton Royal, who owned a trucking company, and Anthony absolutely had not been able to rest until he knew the entirety of the names.Laureate Ivy, Salutatorian Yale, Proctor Harvard, Stanford Dean, Registrar Julliard, and Chancellor Berkeley Royal may have killed to keep the names secret, but Anthony’s father, Rory James McCauley, had sold out his boyfriend in a hot second.

Anthony had been torn between admiration and horror.With Reg it was mostly horror—would Reg have been a little less self-effacing if he’d been John Jacob or Matthew Luke or something equally ordinary?

But then, Chancellor Berkeley seemed to have no problem kicking off the extra baggage of his name—although Chance Berkeley was also the only kid who had been able to go to college straight out of high school, mostly because all the other kids had contributed to his scholarship fund.

Including Reg.

And Anthony was starting to get how families—even the best ones—were complicated.He’dthoughthe understood when he’d told the girl he’d loved to pursue her life, her career, and to leave him behind that love could inflict wounds simply by being love.But watching Registrar Julliard Royal swallow back his love of art so he could continue to contribute tuition and board for his little brother taught him that he’d only passed Sacrifice 101.Reg could teach a master’s class.

So the moment had been filed away.Reg loved his family—Anthony could get on board with that.But Reg also loved art, so truly, madly, deeply, that he kept it a secret from his family.

Anthony couldfeedthat.

He’d had plans too.An art show in Monterey had caught his attention near the end of July.Aha!he’d thought.A lovely sunset, taking Reg to do something he loved!A nice hotel room on the beach!All of that and getting Reg away from his family—how romantic could a guy get?Anthony hadplansand had been about to ask Reg and make the hotel reservation (and maybe conveniently get a king-sized bed just in case) when Reg’s brother Dean and his partner, Marcus, had disappeared in the Chihuahuan Desert on an operation, and it had been all Royals on deck plus Dean’s new boyfriend to go down and bail their two boys out of the shit.

And Anthony?Anthony hadn’t been about to let Reg go through that alone.

And the fallout had taken almost another month.Reg’s brother and his new boyfriend stayed with Reg’s parents, and after some renovations in the basement, including a ramp and an ADA compliant lift to the front room, so did Dean’s work husband, the aforementioned Marcus, who had been injured in the incident.Reg had been needed—very much so—to help get Dean relocated from Sacramento, where he and Marcus had been living, and to help Dean’s boyfriend, Bailey, get a job.And just to prove how big and complicated the whole thing had been, Bailey’s father was now living in the Royal’s mother-in-law cottage as a permanent renter, along with his dog, Catherine the Great, who, Anthony had to admit, might be the world’s greatest golden retriever.

Anthony didn’t begrudge Reg or his family a moment of the time he’d spent helping with, well, all of it.His manager, Violet, was pretty good at running the shooting range on the weekends, and they’d hired two new employees, both bonded, to help.Anthony had his degree in business, and his and his father’s business was running at a steady profit, and given what sticklers Anthony, his dad Rory, andallof their employees were for gun safety and legal use only of firearms, they were also a sort of a community standard.

No AK-47s with bump stocks or ammosexuals allowed.Guns were serious to a former FBI agent, and as his son, Anthony took them just as seriously.

So taking the time out to help this new family had seemed as natural as breathing and, Anthony had to admit, a surefire way to get closer to Reg.

And oh my God!It seemed to have worked!

At least that explained this moment here, with the September breeze, the happy family in the background, and Reg peering shyly off into the distance while asking Anthony if he’d like to get together next weekend.

“Yes,” Anthony said without hesitation.“I’d love to.What did you have in mind?”

To his delight, Regblushed.“My, uhm, the high school I volunteer at?They’re having an art show.I… some of my pieces are in it.”His eyes darted about like fish afraid of getting caught.“Nobody in the family knows.About the pieces in it—they know about the volunteering.You know, with all the stuff going on with Dean and Bailey, I didn’t want to bother anybody.But you… you said you’d like to see….I’m sorry.”

Ack!“No!Don’t be sorry!”Anthony blurted it out and then had to walk back some of the emotional intensity.“We talked about this,” he said gently.“Don’t be sorry when you haven’t done anything wrong.I wouldloveto see your art.It’s next week?”

Reg met his eyes and nodded.“Yeah.Friday afternoon, I’m afraid.You might have to get out of work early.It’s okay if you can’t.”

“It’s fine,” Anthony said, thinking that even if Violetandhis father weren’t already working that night, they might actually volunteer if it was going to help further his cause.

He’d set his sights on Reg in June, and here it was, mid-September, and he had the feeling his own family had been holding their breath.

And he was pretty sure Reg’s family was cheering him on too.

Family Meeting

LAURE: SO?

Chance: You’re just going to text that to all of us and leave it hanging?

Laure: Not ALL of us.Who is missing from this thread, little brother.Think.

Sal: He can’t.His brain is mush from all that adoration coming his way.This is the thread ABOUT Reg.Chance, as the sibling closest in age to Reg, can you tell us, perchance, IS HE GOING TO GET LAID SOON?

Chance: Oh my God—why would you put it like that?He’s falling in love!Have some sensitivity!